Time at JAG
by Generalissimo
Summary: JAGQuantum Leap crossover. Completed. Sam leaps into Harm who is busy prosecuting a high profile case. How will Sam's actions affect the future? Set during JAG Season 8
1. Oh, boy!

Time at JAG

Rating: pg-13 for subject matter

Disclaimer: I do not own JAG nor do I own Quantum Leap.

Sam winced as the usual blue light surrounded him, while he made his leap. This part of the journey had always fascinated him. There was nothing but a void of blue before him as he passed through the very fabric of space and time. Suddenly the field faded and Sam found himself standing before what looked like a courtroom.

Sam looked at the judge. He was surprised to see that the judge was wearing what looked like a military uniform. Upon closer inspection he realized that he to was wearing a military uniform.

'Where am I?' he wondered, 'I hate when this happens.' Sam was reminded of the time when he leaped into a comedian's body, while he was onstage. Since he didn't know the punch-line he froze up.

The judge's voice broke his train of thought, "Commander, do you intend to ask any questions of your witness?"

It took Sam a moment to realize that the judge was addressing him. He looked beside the judge and saw a man in a civilian suit sitting on what must have been the witness stand.

"Oh, boy." He whispered to himself.

Quickly, he looked around for anything that might save him. Suddenly he noticed the junior officer sitting beside him, looking up at him with a bemused look on his face.

Sam acted quickly, "Uh…Co-counsel will continue questioning the witness your honour." The officer sitting beside him looked even more confused. The judge, however, nodded.

"Lieutenant Roberts, you may continue."

The younger officer, obviously Lieutenant Roberts stood up from his chair and proceeded to question the witness. Sam tried, with all the inner strength he could muster to avoid collapsing into his chair with relief. Instead he slowly sat down and cast his gaze skyward, silently thanking God for the save. Then it occurred to him that he should actually be listening to the testimony being given.

"Doctor Bellings," Lieutenant Roberts began, "You have been a Medical Examiner at Bethesda Naval Hospital for ten years, is that correct?"

The man on the witness stand sat up straight and leaned towards the microphone. "Yes that is correct."

"How many autopsies have you performed?"

"You honour," A new voice spoke. Sam looked over and saw an attractive woman with cropped brown hair, wearing, what Sam guessed, was an Army uniform.

"The defense is willing to stipulate to the fact that the witness is an expert." She continued.

Both the Judge and Lieutenant Roberts looked over at Sam, who suddenly began to feel very small. Mustering up his courage, Sam stood up and cleared his throat.

"We are willing to stipulate, your honour." Sam announced rather unconfidently. A fact that did not go unnoticed by both Lieutenant Roberts and the female officer.

"Doctor," Roberts continued, "You performed the autopsy on the victim. One, Petty Officer Veronica Chambers is that correct?"

"Yes, Lieutenant, that is correct."

'Thank God.' Sam thought. The testimony was medical related, at least that he could understand.

"What did you discover to be the cause of death?"

"The victim had been strangled, with what appeared to be a length of chain."

"Objection," The female officer jumped from her seat, "The witness is not qualified to testify as to the nature of the alleged murder weapon."

"You stipulated that he was an expert." The judge pointed out.

"On medical matters, your honour. The witness is a Medical Examiner not a criminologist."

Sam knew enough about Medical Examiners to field this one. "Your honour, the witness has conducted many autopsies involving homicide and is quite capable of distinguishing the type of object used as a murder weapon."

The judge nodded, "Objection overruled."

Lieutenant Roberts turned to the witness. "How do you know that the murder weapon was a chain?"

"The murder weapon left very distinctive marks on the victim's throat. The marks themselves were consistent with a chain."

"Were there any other marks on the body?"

"There were stab wounds in the victim's upper torso. From the trajectory and depth of the wounds, we determined that the wounds were administered from behind and by a man who was left handed."

"Could you demonstrate that for us, please?" Roberts asked the witness and then looked at the judge, "With your permission, you honour."

The judge nodded.

The Doctor got up and walked behind the Lieutenant. Sam looked on, enthralled. He had to admit, this was exciting to watch. The Doctor grabbed Lieutenant Roberts by wrapping his right arm around the man's shoulders. He then demonstrated the stabbing by raising his left hand and bringing it down towards the lieutenant's torso.

Afterward he sat down and explained, "The diagonal trajectory of the wounds suggests a downward thrust. The lack of depth suggests that the wounds were caused by someone bringing the knife towards themselves. The wounds went through the body from left to right indicating that the victim was stabbed by someone who favoured their left hand."

"What else did you find when you autopsied the body?"

"We administered a sexual assault kit on the victim."

"What conclusions could you draw from it?"

"It was very clear that victim had been raped."

Lieutenant Roberts nodded, "No further questions, your honour."

The judge spoke, "Then we will adjourn for the day. This court stands in recess until 0900 hrs, tomorrow." With that, he banged his gavel and began to leave. Sam breathed a sigh of relief.


	2. Why am I here?

Lieutenant Roberts walked back to the table with a bemused look on his face. "Why did you have me question him, sir?"

"Uh…I thought you could use the experience." Sam stated, half saying, half asking in the hopes that he had said the right thing.

This seemed to satisfy the Lieutenant, who grinned, "Thank you sir."

Sam smiled back, "No problem."

"Sam!" Someone called, "Sam! Over here!"

Sam looked around. Al was standing in the back of the courtroom. Sam was so busy watching Al that he didn't notice the female defense lawyer walking over to him.

"Hey, are you all right?" When he didn't respond, she tried again, "Harm are you all right? Harm?"

Finally Sam realized that she was talking him.

"What is it?" He asked.

"You zoned out on me for a second. You all right?"

Sam nodded, "Yeah I'm fine. I'll see you later." He told her. Not waiting for a response, he headed towards the exit. He walked through the door and was thankful for a nearby washroom. He ran through the restroom door and quickly checked to see if there was anyone else in the room. Finding no one, he let out a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, Al appeared. "Hey Sam." He said casually, with his cigar in one hand and his control panel in the other. Sam was too tense for pleasantries. "Apparently, I have to be in court tomorrow, so it would be good if I knew who and when I was." He said.

Al stuck the cigar in his mouth and punched the keys on the control panel.

"It's 2003 and your name is Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. Harm to your friends. You are a military lawyer with the Judge Advocate General's Office; or JAG. You used to be a Tomcat pilot, but then you were diagnosed with night blindness, so you transferred here."

Sam took this opportunity to check his appearance. In the mirror, there was a tall handsome man with short hair and deep blue eyes. Sam smiled. Harm Rabb smiled back. 'He's…that is I've got a killer smile.' He thought.

"So who were those people I talked to?" Sam asked.

Al pressed a few more keys. "US Navy Lieutenant Bud Roberts and Marine Lieutenant Colonel Sarah 'Mac' Mackenzie." He answered, "Both JAG lawyers here."

'Marine, ' Sam thought, 'I should have guessed.' Of course Sam didn't really know anything about military uniforms, although he'd leapt into a few soldiers.

"And where is here?" He asked.

"Falls Church, Virginia."

"And why am I here, exactly."

Al took his cigar out of his mouth and scratched his head, "Ziggy isn't quite sure, she's working on it." He paused, "Uh oh!" He whispered.

Sam's head whipped around sharply, "What's Uh oh?"

Al looked up from the panel in his hand, "In one week, NCIS will begin investigating the murder of Lieutenant Loren Singer, another JAG attorney. Harm will eventually be charged."

Sam nodded, "So I'm here to stop the murder." He supposed.

"No, according to Ziggy, the murder has already taken place. The body just hasn't been discovered yet."

"So, I'm here to prove my innocence."

"No, according to Ziggy, Harm is eventually exonerated."

"To find the real killer?" Sam was getting annoyed now.

"No, Ziggy says that Harm was released because the actual killer was caught."

Sam threw his hands up in desperation. "Well, then why am I here?"

"Eh…" Al paused, "Ziggy doesn't know exactly. Although there is ninety-nine percent probability that you are here to win the case that you were trying in there."

"Which case is that exactly?"

"According to Ziggy, this the United States v. Petty Officer Kevin Andrews. He was charged with the rape and murder of one of his shipmates, Petty Officer Veronica Chambers." Al shuddered slightly as he silently read the details of the crime. Being in the Navy himself, the only thing worse than having a shipmate killed was having one killed in so brutal a fashion.

"Is he guilty?"

"Ziggy says there's a ninety-nine point nine percent chance that he is."

"If it's such an open and shut case, then why am I here?"

"Well Ziggy says that in the middle of the case, the defense uncovered an alibi for their client and the case was dismissed. It wasn't until after the trial that they discovered that the alibi was false, but double-jeopardy prevented them from retrying him."

Sam nodded in understanding, "So I'm here to expose his alibi and put him away."

Al nodded, "Yeah, but that may not be the only thing. There's something that Ziggy is still trying to figure out. I'll get back to you when I have more. In the mean time, I suggest that you brush up on your military law."


	3. Tricks of the Trade

Sam wandered about the building until he finally located his office. Without a word to anyone, he walked through the door, shut and locked it and drew his blinds. He grabbed the case file for the trial for it from on top of his desk and read it.

From what little Sam knew about trial law, the prosecution pretty much had this nailed. While they didn't have the chain used to strangle the victim, they did have the weapon used to stab her, with the accused fingerprints on it. They had witnesses saying that the accused had been seen harassing and propositioning the victim, they had past complaints of sexual harassment and most importantly of all the accused had no alibi…yet.

Having thoroughly reviewed the case, Sam was satisfied he could win, all he had to do was study up on his courtroom procedure a little and wait for Al to get back with information on how to crack the guy's alibi and his other objective, whatever it was and then he could leap out of here.

There came a knock at the door. Sam looked up from the papers on his desk and walked over to open it. The door swung open to reveal Sarah Mackenzie standing on the other side. Suddenly Sam began to feel strange. Even thought this woman was a stranger to him, he felt as though he trusted her, he felt drawn to her. Sam shook it off, recognizing these feelings. This sort of thing happened sometimes after he had leaped. He would begin to experience the feelings and attitudes of his host body. Luckily Sarah Mackenzie didn't seem to notice his pause.

"Hello, Harm." She greeted him as she walked in.

"Hello…" What was the nickname he had heard Al use? "Mac. What can I do for you?"

"I'm here to make a deal."

Sam went through his memory trying to remember every courtroom drama he had ever seen in movies or on TV.

"What did you have in mind?" He asked, not feeling confident enough to lead this conversation.

"Ten years confinement, dishonourable discharge."

Suddenly Sam slipped into a feeling of arrogance that felt alien to him, but seemed completely natural to the person he now inhabited.

"No way!"

"What are you offering?" Mac asked.

"Life imprisonment, no parole."

Mac laughed sarcastically, "You're joking right?"

"No, I'm not. With the case I have, you're lucky that I don't skip the plea-bargaining and simply demand the death penalty."

That last remark had seemed odd to Sam. He had always disapproved of the death penalty, but obviously Harmon Rabb did not feel the same way.

Mac shook her head, "You don't offer much do you?"

Sam shrugged, "No I suppose not."

"Fine then I'll see you in court." She started to walk away, but then she turned around, "We still on for dinner at your place, on Wednesday?" She asked.

Sam nodded, deciding to go with the flow, "Sure what time?"

Mac chuckled, "1900 hrs. Jeez Harm you'd forget the date of your own wedding."

With that she walked away. Sam watched her go and chuckled to himself. She was a pistol! That much was certain. Even if the case was a slam-dunk, he'd have to watch out for her in court. Suddenly that alien feeling was there again, that feeling of longing. Sam shook himself.

'Got to concentrate on the mission.' He thought.

Suddenly The Door opened in the office and Al walked out. He caught a glimpse of Col. Mackenzie as she turned and walked towards her office in the bullpen, and uttered a low whistle.

"If they had women like that when I was serving in combat…Boy, oh boy!" He flashed a wolfish grin.

Sam rolled his eyes, "Do you have anything for me? Any information on Rabb, the case or this mystery objective?"

"I have his addresses, phone numbers, the usual stuff. I also discovered something interesting. I actually met this guy, Rabb once."

"Really, how?"

"I was a visiting admiral, speaking to a graduating class at Annapolis. He had graduated at the top of his class and was headed off to train as a fighter pilot. I remember seeing him with this cute looking ensign." Al took another look in Col. Mackenzie's direction. "Looked a lot like her, actually."

Sam sighed impatiently, "Al…"

Al shook himself from his reverie, "Right…still no word on what this mysterious second objective is. Ziggy is going over the transcripts of the case, trying to find out who supplied the alibi to Andrews and how you can crack it, before they did the first time. We should have the results by tomorrow."

"Why is it taking so long?" Sam wanted to know. This was a court case, there would surely be records of the case. "Shouldn't the man's name be in the transcripts."

"There are. We know who provided the alibi to Andrews, Petty Officer Robert Gillette. His name and testimony is a matter of public record, but since the alibi was proven false after the trial was over, the way that they cracked it is not on record."

"So what do I do?"

"Well, according the transcripts, Gillette will be testifying in two days. So Ziggy will analyze the testimony and try to find the loophole."

"What do I do till then?"

Al shrugged, "Just go with the flow. Proceed with the trial, but brush up on your military law, if the proceedings are changed in any other ways, Andrews may still get off."

The Door opened and Al stepped inside. After it was closed, Sam collapsed into his chair.

'I hate this.' He thought, 'I hate being in the dark.'

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Sam decided that it was best to remain confined to his office until quitting time. He waited until most people had left for the day and then he headed for the parking lot. He looked around trying to find the car that matched the car keys he found in his pocket. After trying unsuccessfully to unlock several wrong doors, he finally found his car.

'Corvette.' Sam thought, 'Not bad.'

Sam drove to the address that Al had given and arrived at his…or was it Harm's apartment? Slamming the door behind him, Sam walked raggedly over to the nearest armchair and collapsed into it. Sighing loudly as he rubbed his eyes in exhaustion.

"Sam?"

Sam looked up and saw Al standing behind him, with several books in his arms.

"What's up?" Sam asked.

"Well you have to be in court tomorrow, so I dug up everything I could on military law. I'm prepared to go all night if necessary."

"Sam smiled wearily, "Thanks, Al."

Al cracked open the first volume, "Right, then. Let's get to it."

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Al's instructions were still ringing in Sam's ears as the first rays of sunlight caused him to stir awake. Groggily he got up from table he was bent over and, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, looked at the wall clock at the opposite end of the room. 8:45! Damn it, fifteen minutes, he'd never make it in time.

Sam looked down and realized that he'd never changed out of his uniform. This was probably for the best, he realized, since he wouldn't have known how to put it on properly anyway.

Thanks to his photographic memory, Sam had managed to remember every detail of the case, as well as the brief on the prosecution's case. With this and his late night cram session, for the first time since he leapt into this body, Sam felt ready.

Sam grabbed a piece of fruit from a bowl on the kitchen counter and barreled through the door, determined to make it to the courthouse.

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Sam ran through the big doors and into the courtroom. He kept his head down and rushed, past the dozens of eyes on him, towards the prosecution table.

"Apologies for being late, your honour." He said as he sat down next to Bud Roberts.

The judge sighed with a look strained tolerance on his face, "Very well then. Now that we're all here, Col Mackenzie can begin her cross-examination of the witness.

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The next two days went on as such: The prosecution called witnesses who testified to the animosity between the defendant and the victim. They testified that the accused had made several rather lewd passes at the victim. They also testified that accused had a history of violent behavior, especially when dealing with women, who resisted him. They testified to the fact that chain and the knife used to kill the victim could be traced back to the accused.

Mac for her part tried to discredit the witnesses, without success. At the end of day, when the prosecution's case was concluded, Sam's case did indeed look like a slam dunk. Nonetheless Mac seemed not to be fazed. Although Sam knew why, he feigned ignorance when he approached when the court adjourned.

"You look awfully smug for someone who got the stuffing kicked out of them." He told her.

Mac smiled smugly, "The trial is only half over. Round two begins tomorrow and this Marine has plenty of fight left, Sailor."

Sam's eyebrows arched, "You know something I don't?"

Mac's smile grew larger, "No, but when I know something, you'll know something."

With that she walked off, with a confident swagger. Bud came up behind Sam.

"You really think she knows something, sir?"

Sam turned around and flashed a weary grin, avoiding the enticing chance to tell the truth about what he knew, "We'll see." He said.


	4. Testimony Under Fire

Sam and Bud spent the rest of the day going over their strategy regarding the defense witnesses. There was the usual: character witnesses and the testimony of the defendant. Sam paid attention if only to be prepared, but he couldn't help being a little bored. It was hard to find certain things exciting when you knew exactly what was going to happen.

After several hours, Sam called it a night and drove home. As soon as he shut the door behind him, Al appeared.

Sam sighed, "What is it Al? I am very, very tired."

"We've got him."

Sam didn't even have to ask, whom he meant. "How?"

"It took a long time, but we found out how to break the alibi. We couldn't find it in any Military court records or in any military records at all for that matter. So we went forward, trying to figure out what our PO Kevin Andrews would be up to. We also found out why we have to convict him on this charge."

"What did you find?"

"Well in 2006 Norfolk Police found two women raped and stabbed like Veronica Chambers. They did some investigating and it was discovered that Andrews knew both of them. When they found out about the first charge and decided to really get down to work; and one of the first things they looked into was his alibi. Robert Gillette claimed that he and the defendant had spent the evening in a local bar together. Since he was a last minute witness, his testimony hadn't been fully investigated; and since the prosecution had no way to disprove the alibi, the judge declared Andrews not guilty. But Norfolk homicide looked into it and they proved conclusively not only that Gillette hadn't been spent the evening with Andrews as he claimed, but that neither man had even been to the bar in a month."

Sam grinned widely, "So all I have to do is go down to the bar and get someone to say that neither of these men had been to the bar."

Al nodded, "And then you'll have saved at least two women from this guy."

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Sam walked into the courtroom, with a definite swagger in his step. He'd called Lt. Roberts and told him an edited tale about how he had found out that Mac had found her client an alibi and wanted to check it out. The two men met with the bartender who recognized the stock photo of Robert Gillette immediately and was all too ready to swear that he had not been in the bar since he had started a brawl a month ago.

"All rise." The bailiff announced.

The judge walked in and banged his gavel. "The defense may begin their case."

Mac stood up from the defense table, "The defense calls Petty Officer Robert Gillette."

Bud looked over at Sam, "The Colonel's going to be surprised when we don't object to this witness."

Sam chuckled softly, "She'll be even more surprised when we tear he client's alibi to pieces."

Gillette walked through the courtroom doors. He was a tall man, strong looking man. He had several noticeable scars on the back of his hands. The type of scars that a bare knuckle boxer would have.

'Definitely not the type of guy you'd want to meet in a dark alley.' Sam thought.

As Gillette stood in front of the witness stand, Sam stepped forward to swear him in.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

"I do."

Mac stepped forward. "Mr. Gillette, do you know the defendant."

"Yes."

"In what capacity?"

"We're shipmates ma'am. We work in the same department and sometimes hangout while on liberty."

"On the night of April the second, when you ship was on liberty in Norfolk, were you with the defendant?"

"Yes, ma'am. We went to O'Malleys, it's a bar near the port."

"How long were you there?"

"From 1930 hrs, just after we left the ship, to about 100 hrs, when they closed ma'am."

"At any point during that time, was the defendant PO Kevin Andrews out of your sight?"

"No ma'am."

Mac smiled, "Thank you." She turned around, "Your witness." She said, with a slight amount of smugness creeping into her tone.

Sam stood up and walked around the table.

"Petty Officer, have you ever been to O'Malley's before?"

"Yes sir."

"How many times have you been in that bar?"

Mac spoke up, "Objection. What relevance does this line of questioning have to the case?"

"Your honour, the prosecution was not officially aware of this witness-A fact that we have not objected to. However in light of this, I'd like a little latitude."

The judge paused for a moment, "Very well, but you better get to you point soon, Commander."

"Understood." Sam turned to the witness stand, "Petty Officer?"

"I'm not sure sir. Probably a few times."

"How many times within the last month?"

"Uh…maybe two or three." Gillette was getting confused, unsure of where these questions were leading.

"Do you know the owner, Shawn O'Malley?"

"Yes sir, he tends bar." Gillette was getting visibly nervous.

Sam nodded, 'This is it.' He thought.

"Petty Officer, isn't it true that you instigated a bar fight in O'Malley's on the date of August 1st?"

Mac flew out of her seat, "Objection, counsel is attempted to discredit this witness by smearing his character."

"Your honour, the bar fight is a matter of public record. If I may continue I'll be able to come the point of this questioning."

The judge sighed, "Objection is overruled…for now. I suggest you tread lightly Commander."

"Thank you, your honour. Petty Officer isn't it true that Shawn O'Malley threatened to slap you with a restraining order, if you ever set foot inside his establishment?" Sam turned towards before, she could object, saying, "A fact that Mr. O'Malley is prepared to testify to."

Gillette was visibly sweating. His eyes continued to dart between the judge, Sam and the defendant.

"The witness will answer." The judge commanded.

"Yes, sir. It's true."

"Isn't it also true that you haven't set foot inside that bar, since the fight a month ago?"

"Yes sir." Gillette looked defeated.

"Were you even with Petty Officer Andrews?"

"Yes sir."

"When? May I remind you that you are now facing a charge of perjury. Things will go much easier for you if you tell the truth."

"When I found him standing over PO Chambers body. He told me if I came forward with an alibi at the last minute, they wouldn't have time to check it."

"Why should we believe you now?"

Gillette laughed wryly. "Sir, you've caught me. I know when my career is over. I've got nothing to gain by lying again."

"No more questions."

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In light of the new evidence, Petty Officer Andrews was very quick to change his plea to 'guilty' in the hopes of receiving a lighter sentence. When court was adjourned Sam felt light as a bird, he practically skipped out of court and drove home.

He was slightly curious as to why he hadn't leaped yet. All of his objectives were completed, or at least all of the ones he knew about. So he spent the evening sitting in his apartment, waiting for Al to show. When he surprised by a knock at his door.

Sam looked through the peephole to see Mac standing in the hallway. As soon as he opened the door, however, her expression changed as she stared daggers at him.

"You bastard." Her voice was low and dangerous.

Sam and whatever part of him was occupied by Harm was taken aback, "What did I do?"

She shoved her way past him and continued to glare at him as he shut the door behind him.

"You made me look like a fool in there." She pointed an accusing finger at him, "You could have warned me that you had managed to discredit the alibi. Could have met with me before court started; but no, you had to go through that three ring circus and publicly humiliate me."

Sam raised his hands, wondering how to handle this, "I was just doing my job. You shouldn't take it personally."

This only made Mac angrier as she walked a short distance across the living room and stopped with her back to him. "Oh, yeah? Well when someone makes me look like bad lawyer and an incompetent investigator, I tend to take it personally."

Some deep inside Sam gripped at him, something angry and sanctimonious.

Before he could stop himself, he uttered, "Well if you had taken the time to properly check the alibi, then we wouldn't have had to go through all this would we?"

Mac turned around sharply, "So you think I'm incompetent too, is that it?"

"I didn't say that." Sam's anger was beginning to rise.

"But that's what you were thinking, wasn't it?"

Harm's anger reached a fever pitch and Sam lost control, "Damn it," he was shouting by this time, "Will you stop putting words in my mouth. This is all about you isn't it? This is all about how it'll affect your career. Never mind the fact that I got to the truth and put a rapist behind bars. This is all about you and your pride."

Out of nowhere Mac's hand came up and slapped him hard across the face. It was hard enough to make Sam jerk sideways. When he looked back at her, her eyes were widened in immeasurable anger and surprise.

"Damn you." Was all she said before she walked past him and left, slamming the doors behind her.

Sam collapsed into an armchair and rubbed his throbbing cheek. At that moment The Door opened and Al stepped out.

"Sorry I'm late Sam, but we had some problems in the lab. Nothing serious, but it kept me from entering the chamber for about an hour. Incidentally, great work in court. According to Ziggy's figures an hour ago, Kevin Andrews spends the next twenty-five years in Leavenworth and the two women he would have raped go on to live happy productive lives. Oh and Ziggy finally managed to figure out what your mystery objective is."

Sam sighed in relief. 'Finally.'

"What is it?"

"According Ziggy there's a ninety nine percent probability, that you're here to hook up with that Colonel Mackenzie."

Sam's jaw dropped.


	5. The Olive Branch

"According Ziggy there's a ninety nine percent probability, that you're here to hook up with that Colonel Mackenzie."

Sam's jaw dropped.

"What do you mean?"

"Well apparently in the original timeline, Colonel Mackenzie goes on a mission for the CIA, the records of which are now declassified in our time. Anyways While on this mission, she and her CIA partner, a 'Clayton Webb' are captured and tortured at the hands of a terrorist named Sadik Fahd. Before the mission Harm and Mac were getting along pretty well, but after he resigned his commission to rescue her…"

"Wait, hold up. He resigned his commission to rescue her?" Sam was getting overwhelmed.

"Yeah, they wouldn't give him leave or anything so he up and resigned. Now is that devotion or what. Anyway after the mission, their relationship took a turn for the worse, which they would eventually recover from. Anyway if the timeline remains unchanged, then Harm and Mac eventually get married, but Ziggy says that for some reason we have to speed up the process."

Sam got up from his seat with a horror-stricken look on his face.

"You said if the timeline remains unaffected."

Al puffed his cigar, "Yeah, so?"

"What if it was affected?"

Al looked at Sam for a moment, "What do you mean?" He asked cautiously.

Sam rubbed his forehead, "You said, you got this data an hour ago. Have you checked it since then?"

"No." Al began pressing buttons on the panel in his hand. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped causing the cigar to fall to the ground. "My God. What have you done Sam?"

Sam shrugged helplessly, "She came by a few minutes ago. Apparently she wasn't too happy about the surprise that we pulled in court. We argued and she left."

"You argued?" Al looked Sam over suspiciously. Sam was a rather even-tempered guy. If he had managed an argument of that much severity, then something was up.

Again Sam shrugged. "This Harm person seems to have a bit of a temper. It made me lose control."

Al sighed, "Yeah, we've become acquainted with Mr. Rabb's temper. He tried to knock the door of the waiting area down to escape. He's spent the last few days pacing around the room like a tiger in a cage. Muttering threats against some guys named Webb and Palmer."

"Okay, so what happens in the timeline now?"

"Well according to Ziggy, after Harm gets out of jail he does go and rescue Mac in Paraguay, and their relationship still takes a hit; but unlike in the original timeline, this little incident proves to be the last straw. Not only don't they get married and have kids, they don't speak to each other again. Whatever they were going to say to each other in Paraguay then isn't half as bad as what they're going to say now. Harm leaves the United States and his last known whereabouts are reported to be somewhere in Siberia. Mac ends up marrying Clayton Webb and both are killed soon after in revenge by a terrorist named Sadik Fahd."

Sam shook his head in disbelief, "So what do I do now?"

"I have no idea, no that the timeline has been altered we're in uncharted waters. One thing is for certain, you better fix things between each other or we're done for."

Sam walked into JAG HQ with caution. If the slap was anything to go by, he was certain that she so chose, Mac could inflict serious bodily harm on him. When he saw her sitting at her desk in her office her took a deep breath and prepared to approach her, when he was caught by Bud Roberts.

"Good morning, sir." Bud greeted him cheerfully.

"Good morning, Bud. Is the Colonel busy?"

Bud looked over his shoulder, "I don't believe so sir," He turned back to face Sam, "Sir, she seems to be in a bad mood this morning. Do you have any idea what's bothering her?"

Sam laughed ruefully, "Well, it seems that the Colonel didn't take kindly to the little 'stunt' that we pulled in court, dismantling her client's alibi."

Bud raised his eyebrows, "Boy, I hope she doesn't blame me for this."

Sam laughed again, "Don't worry, from the little rant she gave me, I'd say that she's blaming me for most of it."

"Is there anything I can do to help sir?"

"If you hear any screaming, assume it's too late and prepare to make funeral arrangements for whatever remains of mine she leaves behind."

Again Sam took a deep breath and made his way to Mac's office. He knocked tentatively. A curt 'Enter' came from the other side of the door. He quietly opened the door and stepped inside. Mac still hadn't looked up from the papers on her desk.

"Hi." He greeted her.

At the sound of his voice, she stopped reading and looked up at him.

"Well." She asked in the same curt tone she had ushered him in with.

Suddenly uncomfortable in the spotlight, Sam self-consciously raised his hand to scratch the back of his head. "I…" He searched for the right words; Mac looked at him intently, with barely concealed irritation, "I wanted to apologize. I know that this wasn't about your career. I should know better."

"Yeah you should have." She snapped.

Sam shut his eyes. He knew this wasn't going to be easy. "Look Mac. I said I was sorry and I meant it. I'm trying to make peace here. If you don't want to hear I'll just leave." He made a move to the door, hoping she still cared enough about Harm to take the bait.

"Wait."

Sam turned around and looked at Mac. Mac shook her head. She got up from her desk and walked over to him. She sighed theatrically. "Look," She said, "I know you didn't mean to humiliate me. I want to move past this. It's just going to take a little time."

'Time I don't have.' Sam thought.

"How about we reconcile over some dinner?" He asked.

Mac appeared to hesitate.

"Come on," Sam coaxed, "What have you got to lose?"

Mac shook her head, "With you cooking, Flyboy? Plenty."

Sam wasn't sure how to take that remark until he saw the glint in her eyes that told him that he was being teased. He smiled.

"So, my place at eight?" He suggested.

"Sure."

As Sam turned to leave, Mac called after him. "There's just one condition. No meatless meatloaf."

Sam looked at her, "I promise. No meatless meatloaf."

He turned and, after having opened the door, headed back to Harm's office.

'Meatless meatloaf? What the hell is that?' he wondered.


	6. Making Things Right

Sam looked around the room, one last time. The light had been dimmed; the pasta primavera had been prepared. He had thought about candlelight, but he didn't want to appear too obvious. He had also thought about a bottle of wine, but something deep down, probably another of Harm's memories, told him that that wouldn't be a good idea.

A knock at the door interrupted his train of thought. He looked himself over in the mirror, one last time. He had decided to dress casually. Satisfied, he walked across the room and opened the door.

Mac was standing on the other side, also dressed in civilian attire. Sam gestured for her to enter. All the while thinking:

'How am I going to do this? I'm only going to tell this woman that her friend of seven years is in love with her. How hard can that be? Impossible, that's how hard!'

For the next hour they ate and talked. Luckily Sam had prepared for this night. After sifting through all the data available on Harmon Rabb and Al 'somehow' coaxing personal information out of Harm, Sam now knew Harmon Rabb and Satah Mackenzie better than they knew themselves. So when they meal was finished, Sam set his fork down with an audible 'thunk', finally ready to take a chance.

"This has been a good evening." He said.

Mac nodded, "Yes it has. It's almost…" She paused.

"Like what?" Sam prompted her.

"I was going to say, it's almost like old times. I realized something. We've been doing rather well the last few months."

This time Sam nodded, "Yes, I'd say so."

"It's not just that, for a long time, before the last few months, we'd been walking on eggshells around each other. Even after the JAG-a-thon. And then," She gestured with her hand, "something changed; and we became as close as we've ever been. It just happened so subtly that I never noticed it until now."

"When I stonewalled you in court." Sam filled in, beginning to comprehend where she was going with this.

Mac nodes, somberly, "Yeah, when that happened I. Well I was hurt. I felt that we had gone right back to where we were all those months ago, not really trusting each other. So I lashed out."

"Well, I don't blame you." Sam replied, "it's not everyday that not only that you client's alibi gets cracked and your opponent makes a big show of it in court."

Mac chuckled slightly, "Yeah." Suddenly her eyes narrowed, in suspicion. "Just how did you know about the alibi, anyway?"

'You wouldn't believe me if I told you.'

"Uh…I have my ways." Sam smiled disarmingly, hoping that she would accept that.

Mac threw up he hands in mock frustration. "Fine, have it your way."

Sam smiled wider, but then his expression grew serious.

"Look, Mac," he paused, "Sarah, I didn't just invite you to dinner to apologize."

Mac looked him in the eyes. "Why, then?" She asked, unsure of where he was going with this.

"Well, you said that you realized that in the past few months we've grown as close as we've ever been; and I have to say that I've noticed the same thing." He took her hands in his. "But after all this time, I've come to realize that I'd be a fool if I didn't admit that I wanted more."

Mac's eyes got visibly wider. "So what are you saying?"

"I…well I" Once again, Harm's innate nervousness seemed to take hold and Sam found himself at a loss for words. Deciding that it was now or never, Sam threw his arms the woman in front of him and drew her in for a kiss. Sometimes words were overrated anyway.

"All right Sam!"

Sam managed to contain his surprise at Al's sudden appearance and pulled away from Mac slowly. He looked into her deep brown eyes.

"I love you Sarah." He whispered.

Mac rested her forehead against his. "I love you too Harm."

Al laughed triumphantly, "You did it Sam. Now that everything is out in the open, Harm and Mac start an official relationship, which means enough to Mac that she declines to go to Paraguay, when Harm gets out of jail. So Clayton Webb looks within the CIA pool for a female agent, as a result the mission is a complete success. Webb is never captured and Sadik Fahd is killed by an American missile strike on his compound. Harm and Mac are married inside a year and have three kids."

Sam looked at the beautiful woman in front of him and smiled, "Congratulations." He whispered.

Mac gave him a perplexed look. "For what?" She asked.

Sam leaned in kissed her again. As soon as their lips connected he leaped.

The End.


End file.
